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University of Oklahoma Libraries Western History Collections
GENERAL NATIVE AMERICAN MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS
Connelley, William Elsey (1855-ca. 1929) Papers 1854-1925 2.33 feet
Author. Correspondence (ca. 1923) regarding the Benders of Kansas, and the genealogy of families in Big Sandy Valley, Kentucky; notebooks (ca. 1854-1913) concerning the Civil War, William Quantrill, Indians, linguistics, border wars, Kansas history prior to the 20th century, and the genealogy of families of Big Sandy Valley, Kentucky; clippings (ca. 1855-1900) concerning Indian mythology, legends, and relations with whites, the Civil War within Kansas and adjoining states, as well as other Kansas history; manuscripts (ca. 1902) concerning politics, Indian mythology, folklore, linguistics, and relations with whites, John Brown, William Quantrill, and Kansas history; and pamphlets (1857-1925) concerning politics within and between Indian and white groups, Indian mythology, folklore, linguistics, "Wild Bill" Hickok, and John Brown. The collection also includes diaries (1858-1911) of Connelley, and of George Ela who writes of Kansas farm life, local Indian groups and their linguistics, and his Civil War experiences at Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
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1. Articles:
a. Excerpt from Our Red Brother, June 28, 1894, on the "Indian Territory", and a list of intermarried Chickasaw and Choctaw citizens.
2. Portion of a manuscript entitled, "Wild Horses," apparently intended for the Chronicles of Oklahoma.
3. Drawings. Various animals giving the type of picture Connelley wants to be used to depict the animals in his stories.
a. Deer; Wolf; Turtle; Bear; Swan; Hawk; Beaver; Porcupine.
4. Paper read by William E. Connelley, Secy. of the Kansas State Historical Society, at Manhattan, October 25, 1929, on the occasion of the celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the city of Manhattan.
5. Clippings:
a. "A Missourian after Whom a Town, a Mountain, and a River are Named, (Bill Williams)" from the St. Louis Globe Democrat, December 24, 1911.